If part of your family is feline you may have encountered a problem since Covid.
Fussy Cat canned cat food became not available.
Then, available again, it doubled price.
That price has persisted.
Faced with that, I tried to find lower priced substitutes (I tried Chicken of the Sea premium tuna from Costco).
The cats wouldn't eat it.
So, I bit the price bullet and kept buying Fussy Cat.
Recently most varieties of Fussy Cat canned food are "out of stock" at any price.
This morning I had a wide-ranging and quite long discussion with Copilot about the foregoing and had built a blog post out of that discussion.
It was typographically heterodox in format, so I asked Copilot to homogenize it.
She did and asked me if I would like a one-page brief; I was curious, so I said, "do it".
Here it is.
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Brief: Fussy Cat, the Price Shock, and Viable Substitutes
1. The Fussy Cat Price Reset
Pre‑COVID price: $23 per case
COVID‑era spike: $53 per case
Post‑COVID: price never returned
Current state: most varieties unavailable
This is a structural reset, not a temporary disruption.
2. The Attempted Substitute: Chicken of the Sea (Costco)
Large cans under $2 each
Excellent price‑per‑ounce
Stable, domestic supply chain
Rational choice from a cost/availability standpoint
But the cats rejected it.
3. Why the Cats Rejected Chicken of the Sea
Cats accustomed to Thai‑made pet food expect:
Soft, short shreds
High moisture
Strong aroma
Light broth or gel
Chicken of the Sea is:
Denser
Drier
Less aromatic
Processed for humans, not cats
To them, it is simply not food.
4. Products That Match the Thai Texture Profile
Costco
Kirkland Signature “Shreds in Gravy” (cat variety pack)
Manufactured in Thailand
Shredded, soft, high‑moisture
Strong aroma
Stable availability
Important: The pâté version is U.S.-made and will be rejected.
Mainstream Stores
These brands are also Thai‑manufactured and match Fussy Cat’s sensory architecture:
Weruva
Tiki Cat
B.F.F. (Best Feline Friend)
All three replicate the shredded‑in‑broth profile your cats are imprinted on.
5. Bottom Line
Fussy Cat’s price increase is permanent.
Chicken of the Sea fails because it sits outside the Thai sensory register.
The closest substitutes are Thai‑made shredded foods, especially Kirkland Shreds in Gravy, Weruva, Tiki Cat, and B.F.F.
